This invention relates to a non-closable container having an open mouth defined by the upper edges of a pair of trapezoidal panels heat-sealed along three edges of a pair of overlying webs, or along the side edges of a single web folded double. The container exhibits a desired visual effect by a means which (a) includes coloration and decorative ornamentation, (b) forms a trapezoidal configuration with essentially no thickness when collapsed, and a generally frustoconical shape when partially filled, and (c) suggests either the goods contained or the appearance of a live plant when one is placed in a container of appropriate size. The container most preferably includes a static information exhibiting means in the upper portion of its exterior surface, specifically modified by ornamented indicia which provides the static information. In a particular embodiment, the container contains an edible product and visual information desired to be communicated to the user concerning the product or the utilization of the product, and the characters providing the information are in contrasting colors.
Commercially acceptable containers in the market-place for the packaging of small solid goods are required, not only to package the particular goods effectively, but to help sell those goods to the consumer. Preferably, the container helps to entice the consumer to purchase the goods on the spur of the moment. Such goods are easily portable from the point-of-sale because they weigh less than about 4.54 Kg (10 lb). Such goods, referred to herein as "small goods" are generally, individually, small articles such as candy puffs, malt balls, popcorn, artificial Easter eggs, Easter grass, or pulverulent or granular material such as soil in which a flowering or non-flowering plant lives, or the plant may be pored in a conventional flower pot. Such goods which rely on spur-of-themoment sales to an individual customer are characterized by their reliance upon sensual appeal, whether it is their aroma carried by air flowing over the goods, or their freshness to the touch, or their visual appeal, or each of the foregoing. For example, a decision to buy popcorn, or to buy a growing plant, particularly one in flower, is generally accepted, if not expected, to have been made on the spur-of-the-moment. Even if the decision to buy popcorn or a plant of a specific generic type is not made on the spur of the moment, the choice of a particular bag of popcorn, or of a particular growing plant, is. An appropriately decorative container serves not only to make the sale, but to identify the goods therein, to allow air circulation over the goods, and, if desired, provide information about the volume contained, and/or instructions with respect to how to use the goods, or, how to care for them.
The terms "trapezium", "trapezoid" and "trapezoidal" are used herein as equivalents to denote a quadrilateral having two parallel upper and lower sides, the lower side being shorter than the upper, with the remaining two side sides being equally angulated, but oppositely directed. The closed end of the container is referred to as the "base" despite being nearer the apex of the triangle (which the container would form if the angulated sides were extended to intersect) than the unsealed longer sides which form the open upper end or "mouth" of the container, because, in use, its mouth is uppermost.
Accordingly, this invention more particularly relates to a novel decoratively ornamented non-closable trapezoidal container formed from a web of essentially transparent synthetic resinous film uniquely printed on the container's exterior surface, in the lower portion thereof, with high-gloss inks of contrasting color in only the lower printed portion, preferably containing a varnish, or overlaid with a coat of varnish, the upper portion of the container being essentially transparent and preferably, foraminous; and, to a continuous method of making the container from twin superimposed webs, each printed in substantially the same way, or, from a single web folded along its central longitudinal axis to produce substantially the same result as the twin webs.
By "high-gloss" ink is meant one which when viewed as a printed layer has a gloss index in the range from about 70-98. By "essentially transparent" film is meant "permeable to visible light" such that at least about 90% of the surface area of the upper portion of the container is free from printing which interferes with the transparency of the upper portion. "Upper" portion refers to the transparent portion above a "lateral line" in a region lying in the range from about one-half to about two-thirds vertically above a liquid-impervious planar edge which is the container's bottom. The "lateral line" refers to a line, preferably serrated or crenelated, preferably drawn above the vertical half-way distance between the upper and lower edges of the superimposed webs, but below one drawn through a point at a height two-thirds the vertical distance between the upper edge and the bottom, the line being nearer the upper edge than the bottom. The phrase "lower printed portion" refers to the ornamented printed portion in the area below the lateral line.
Flat containers, generally referred to as "plastic bags" are currently made in a variety of shapes and sizes, including trapezoidal bags, by joining together along three sides, along the entire length of each side, upper and lower webs of transparent heatsealable film printed with the tradename of the seller, the trademark, a pattern of stripes and squares or other geometric design, or a likeness of the contents, for example, a poinsettia plant. To my knowledge, such bags are made from heat-sealable polyolefin film or polyester film, typically thin polyethylene or cast polypropylene film, and printed with inks against the transparent background so that a profusion of printing is scattered in separate regions across the entire container, or, only a minor proportion of the lower portion of the web is printed with a discontinuous layer of printing ink applied in a substantially uniform coating.
In some instances, a web of film made opaque with an ultrathin, non-self-supporting, reflective layer of bright metal, deposited by known. techniques and referred to as "metallized film", is overprinted with a single color with substantially transparent ink. Hereafter, for brevity, the ultrathin, non-self-supporting, reflective layer of bright metal is referred to as "the ultrathin layer" to distinguish it from foil which is self-supporting. The thickness of the ultrathin layer, most preferably of aluminum, ranges from about 0.5 micron (0.5.mu.) to about 4.mu., and the coated film has an optical density of &lt;4 (less than 4). By "substantially transparent ink" is meant an ink which is permeable to at least 20%, and preferably a major portion, of visible light incident upon it. Trapezoidal bags formed of metallized film have no upper portion which is essentially transparent, nor are they completely covered with :printing ink in their lower portion. Minor portions of metal have been removed from within both the lower and upper printed areas in prior art bags, but this amount removed in the upper printed area is typically less than about 20% of the metallized surface, so that the upper area is not essentially transparent.
Such printed metallized flat trapezoidal bags are used to package vegetables and fruits at grocery stores, and in a host of other applications including for advertising at ball games where a bag may be used as a rain hat, by inverting the bag over one's head.
Recognizing the importance of providing a foil wrap which serves as a marketing tool, and of providing a more attractive package for goods, U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,811 to Donald E. Weder (U.S. class 47/subclass 72) provides a decorative wrapping material in the form of a flexible self-supporting aluminum foil panel having a multicolor appearance. One surface of the aluminum foil is covered with relatively thick and relatively thin layers of ink of a single color, spaced apart by uncoated areas of metallic foil, to produce an effect referred to as "racing stripes". The other surface of the aluminum foil is laminated to a thin layer of plastic material. The function of the metallic foil is to emphasize the delineation between the inked areas and to enhance the variation in color intensity between adjacent areas. The overriding function of the '811 wrap is to attract the attention of a customer easily attracted by wrappings, if not goods, that glitter.
However, to attract the attention of a sophisticated prospective purchaser, the container must do better than simply glitter; it must identify the goods, as well as provide an immediate visual indication of the volume of the goods contained. To this end, in this invention, when a container is to be used for popcorn, the exterior surface of its lower portion is imprinted with the likeness of freshly popped corn, in vivid, living, deep golden color against a bright background of light yellow, the remaining upper portion being substantially uncolored and clear, that is, light permeable. A container to jacket a live potted plant is imprinted with leaves, preferably generic to the plant. The light-permeable upper portion of the container allows (a) identification of the plant which must be clearly visible in normal indoor or outdoor lighting, with the naked eye, (b) disseminates the fragrance of the plant, and (c) provides ambient air for transpiration.
A trapezoidal bag, referred to as a Combined Shipping and Packaging Envelope for a Potted Plant, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Des. No. 259,333 to Charbonneau, showing a printed lower portion contrasted with a white upper portion the margins of which contain portions of the same printed color which covers the lower printed portion. These marginal printed portions are referred to as "print overlap" or "overlap". No prior art trapezoidal container has been formed in which printed images cover substantially its entire lower portion of a defined lower portion of the container with a continuous layer of printing ink, the remaining upper portion being free of overlap. By "substantially its entire lower portion" is meant that the lower printed portion is covered with ink over from about 90% to 100% of the area of the lower portion. The lowest portion near the container's bottom edge may be preserved in an unprinted condition to facilitate the bottom being heatsealed in the unprinted region. Prior art trapezoidal bags have been partially primed in their lower portions with a discontinuous layer of printing ink typically covering less than about 50% of their lower portions, or have deliberately maintained designated unprinted areas in the lower printed portion.
No prior art trapezoidal container has (i) only its entire lower portion covered with the ultrathin layer, sequentially over-printed with contrasting colors of a transparent ink, including a varnish to produce a high-gloss printed surface, and, (ii) its upper portion permeable to visible light. No prior art trapezoidal container has (i) only its entire lower portion sequentially printed with contrasting colors of essentially opaque inks, including a varnish to produce a high-gloss printed surface, and, (ii) its upper portion permeable to visible light. It is conceded that, a printer of polyolefin film, who prints with high-gloss colored transparent inks on metallized film, or high-gloss opaque inks on transparent film, could print substantially the entire lower portion of a web with contrasting colors of high gloss ink, were he instructed to do so, and leave the upper portion unprinted. It is known that transparent ink, printed on the ultrathin layer in a layer from about 1-10.mu. thick, allows visible light reflected from the ultrathin layer to pass through the ink, giving the printed image a distinctive bright metallic look.
Similarly, one skilled in the art of designing and constructing containers from synthetic resins would recognize the desirability of maintaining an upper transparent portion for visual inspection of its contents but would have no reason to cover the entire lower portion with a high-gloss ink, brightened by the addition of reflective varnishes which are preferably mutually soluble with the inks. Much less likely would he be likely to consider using a metallized heat-sealable synthetic resinous film, overprinting it to cover the entire lower portion of a trapezoidal flat bag he wished to make, then overlaying the printed portion with varnish. Unexpectedly, the varnish serves two additional functions besides providing high-gloss: it allows etching away only the unwanted portions of the ultrathin layer, and, it provides protection against scuffing of the otherwise unprotected relatively abrasion-prone inks on the exposed exterior printed surface.
There was no recognition in the bag-making art, of the desirability of printing the entire lower portion of a web with high-gloss inks in juxtapositioned regions having different thicknesses, yet to restrict the printing beneath a generally lateral line of longitudinal demarcation between the printed lower portion and the transparent upper portion, for any reason; nor was there any reason in the art to make a multiplicity of trapezoidal bags from a pair of webs, with the restriction that each bag be free of blank or elongated rectangular unprinted portions ("racing stripes") in the lower portion, or, overlap in the upper portion; or, any reason in the art to provide a marker for information directly connected to the use or care of the goods.
Because of the conventional method of making prior art flat trapezoidal bags with essentially no wasted stock, no bag has both, a completely printed lower portion, and, a transparent upper portion. Prior art flat trapezoidal bags have either a racing stripe in the lower portion, or, overlap in the upper transparent portion, as will be explained in greater detail below. In a mass of conventionally printed bags having an upper portion which is transparent, the bags are not identical to one another in that the racing stripes vary in width at the margins of the lower portion of the trapezium; or, in printed bags having their lower portions essentially completely printed, the widths of the overlap vary at the margins in the upper transparent portions. Though only a single bag, conventionally printed in only its lower half, in essentially the entire portion thereof (no racing stripe, no unprinted portions), with the upper portion transparent (no overlap in the margins), could have been individually made from appropriately printed stock, whether a pair of webs, or a single web folded over on itself once, by wasting the remainder of the stock on either side, such a method of making a bag would not be considered for a commercial bag-making machine which must make a multiplicity of bags with a minimum of wasted stock. In bag-making, the stock which is fed essentially continuously to the bag-making machine. The method of this invention permits making a mass of containers, the mass comprising a multiplicity of individual, identically uniquely printed containers, by deliberately wasting stock, more than one-half that used to make the container, but limiting the waste to less stock than is used to make the container.